July 28, 2025 • 37 mins
What happens when you're told you're "too much" and decide to build a brand around it? Cara Chatellier, founder of Bubbly Creative, joins us to talk about turning what others see as a liability into your strongest asset. She shares her journey from corporate pushback to leading an all-women agency that helps women-led businesses build brands rooted in authenticity and purpose.
In this episode, we explore how personality-driven branding can create deep connections, especially for service-based entrepreneurs. Cara shares how to start showing up without the pressure to do it all, and why your lived experience and unique energy are essential tools (not obstacles) in your marketing toolkit.
Whether you're struggling with imposter syndrome or unsure how to stand out, Cara’s perspective offers a grounded, encouraging reminder: You don’t need to be everywhere or be everything. You just need to be real.
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Episode Transcript
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Janice Hostager (00:00):
I'm Janice Hostager.
After three decades in themarketing business and many
years of being an entrepreneur,I've learned a thing or two
about marketing.
Join me as we talk aboutmarketing, small business, and
life in between.
Welcome to My Weekly Marketing.
One thing I've noticed since Ifirst started in business is
(00:31):
this.
Women and men relate to eachother and market themselves
differently.
Now, I'm speaking ingeneralizations here.
Don't send me any emails.
But I've noticed that womentend to be more relational,
verbal, and generally relate toeach other differently than men
do.
That's why I love what my guesthas to say today.
Today, I'm joined by CaraChatellier, founder of Bubbly
(00:54):
Creative, a boutique agency thathelps women-led service
businesses show up like bigbrands.
What started as a solofreelance gig in Madrid for Cara
has grown into a full-serviceagency with an all-female team
and a reputation for makingmarketing feel doable.
In this episode, we're talkingabout what it really takes to
build a brand that connects,without burning out or
(01:16):
pretending to be someone you'renot.
Cara shows how she blendsstrategy with soul and how small
businesses can stand out byleaning into their voice, their
values, and their vision.
If you've ever wondered how tomarket your business in a way
that actually feels like you,with personality, purpose, and a
little bit of sparkle, you'rein for a treat.
(01:37):
Here's my conversation withCara.
Hey, Cara.
Welcome to My Weekly Marketing.
Cara Chatellier (01:41):
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm so happy to be here.
Janice Hostager (01:44):
I love that you run an agency, Bubbly Creative,
I also love that name, by theway, that focuses on women-led
brands.
How did you get to that point?
What made you want to focus onthat or have that be your
agency's focus?
Cara Chatellier (02:05):
Yeah, well, first, the name Bubbly
Creative...
just to touch on that quickly.
I've been told my whole lifethat I was bubbly.
My mom always saideffervescent, which is such a
great word too.
If you're a marketer, you heara word like effervescent, you're
like, delicious.
Janice Hostager (02:21):
I'm going to own that one.
Cara Chatellier (02:22):
Yeah.
But yeah, so it worked outperfectly because bubbles, they
pop, rise to the top.
It's kind of like acelebration.
Anytime you have bubbly, it'slike fun.
So I was like, yes, love it.
But as far as working withwomen.
So I grew up in a family ofthree sisters.
(02:44):
I'm the middle.
And my mom's a very strongwoman.
When we were younger, she gother master's, worked full-time,
and just really always been apart of like very matriarchal
structures that really loved thewomen around me.
I've always had very strongfemale friendships working.
(03:06):
I always had female managers,even, you know, it was just
something that I was alwaysdrawn to.
And as I kind of like came intomy own through school, going to
university and all of thosethings, just really kind of
like leaned into feminism and all of those things that you know, learning more about the patriarchy and really just wanting to support other women, and how other women's businesses grow as a female in business. You realize these unique struggles and unique powers we have as women, so just really wanting to connect with women who own their own businesses and help push their messages forward.
Janice Hostager (03:50):
Very cool.
Do you think that personalityor more like, yeah, do you think
that personality is such apowerful differentiator in
women-led brands or what part ofbranding women do you think
sets that apart?
That's a weird way of askingit, but what makes it, what's
(04:13):
different about marketing awoman-led brand?
That's kind of what I'm tryingto say.
Cara Chatellier (04:17):
For sure.
Yeah.
So I think, it totally dependson the individual, right?
So everyone's different.
All women are different.
Men, non-binary folks, whathave you.
But when you're marketing witha women-owned brand, I feel like
because we tend to be morenurturing, we tend to be more
feeling.
We put so much of our heart andsoul into business.
(04:41):
And especially if it's abusiness that is targeting a
woman, a female clientele, youjust are able to tap in a little
bit more to like the emotion ofit.
So I find that when I'm workingwith female owned businesses,
sometimes there's a little bitof a doubt at first that they
have, like, I don't know who Iam.
one of our strengths at bubblycreative is helping them find
(05:02):
out who they are and reallythreading, like pulling that
out.
We ask like a million questionswhen we get started working
with people.
And it's like, from what you'resaying there, I can sense that
you are.
And they're like, Oh yeah,actually.
And like, what do people sayabout you often?
What do you get in yourtestimonials?
And you can like kind of pullout those key pieces.
Cause sometimes like as a, as arule, I, unfortunately, um, a
(05:25):
lot of women tend to be moresusceptible to imposter
syndrome.
And men also experience it, ofcourse, and non-binary folks.
But I think that it's thesocialization of us.
Like we just tend to feelimposter syndrome a little bit
more than men do.
And as a result, not always asstanding as confident in our
(05:49):
brand and who we are.
So one of the things we lovedoing is like pulling that out
and kind of like helping peoplestand strongly in the brand and
who they are.
Oh,
Janice Hostager (06:00):
That is super powerful because I think I know
of a lot.
I know even for myself.
I mean, I grew up knowing whatI wanted to do.
I've been in business most ofmy career.
But when I took time off toraise kids, I became just a mom
in my head.
And I started volunteering alot and doing things that when I
(06:22):
went back into the workforce,it felt like, oh, I don't need
to be paid that much.
Maybe it's just because a lotof times women take on a lot of
different roles.
We can be the caretaker.
We can be the parent, mother.
We are most often the one totake time off when we have kids.
I don't know.
(06:45):
I feel like because we have somany...
names on ourselves or so manyroles that we fill, sometimes I
feel like it's really hard forus to identify who we are
because we're such a mixed bag.
All of us are, right?
Cara Chatellier (07:00):
Completely.
Yeah.
And I think a lot of times whenI don't have children myself,
but a lot of my friends do, andthey talk about like, okay, I'm
just coming back to myself afterlike having infants and like
okay I'm starting to like findmy identity again so I feel like
that happens a lot and then youhave children and then you also
(07:22):
have this business so it's likekind of like an identity crisis
so kind of like sorting throughall that and you know just by
the nature of society and thestructures that we live in
having uh being almost like 90%of the time the the burden of
the household falls on women alot and they're managing and
(07:44):
juggling so many things so it'sjust like you said kind of
parsing through that andfiguring out who am I who am I
as a business owner who's mytarget client like just being
able to help people sort throughthat bit and having that be our
expertise is just has beenreally special
Janice Hostager (08:01):
Yeah, yeah.
I love the phrase, it's...
a jar can't read its own labeland I think that is something
that I think we also have tojust be outright and say, what
do you see that I do well?
Asking people, asking yourfriends, asking family, asking
clients even, you know, what isit that you're happy about this
(08:23):
and getting feedback from them.
Because oftentimes, I think,especially if I get a
compliment, my first thing isjust to kind of dismiss it.
Like, oh, you know, thanks.
And then kind of move on.
But really taking that in andabsorbing that because that's a
clue.
That's a mirror, right?
So that you can start to seehow other people see you and how
your brand shows up in otherpeople's businesses.
(08:45):
So...
Cara Chatellier (08:46):
Totally.
And that's one of the things wedo a lot with when we do that
first deep dive meeting with ourclients is we ask them what's
something your clientsconsistently say about you.
And you can also see that intestimonials.
Like you'll see this similarphrases keep popping up and
you're like, okay, like let'slean into that.
Like people keep saying like,oh, I make them feel safe.
(09:08):
I feel they feel taken care ofor they say consistency or they
say communication and you'relike, okay, so that is going to
help us form who you are.
And because it's what peopleare saying, it's how you make
them feel.
And that's the most importantthing about a brand, right?
Janice Hostager (09:26):
And I think it's harder if
you are not maybe an extroverted person or you don't have a bold personality .
Cara Chatellier (09:28):
Right.
Right.
(09:58):
It's a little harder to figure out... sometimes I’ll look at my own branding, and think, it’s kind of vanilla. You know, it’s, I don’t know what it is I need to pull out this. So, I love that you both have questions with them. You take them through that. I think all of us benefit from just seeing patterns or just getting feedback from other people.
Totally.
Definitely.
Janice Hostager (10:01):
How do you work it?
So what's the differencebetween a personal brand and a
business brand when you have awoman led business?
I mean, obviously, they'redifferent, but how do
you differentiate them?
Cara Chatellier (10:15):
Yeah, so I think with a personal brand,
you're going to be focusing moreon the individual, right?
So like what their personalityis like, what their day to day
is like, you're able to kind ofdo that peek behind the curtain
that is kind of more theirrelationships, their likes,
their interests.
People want to see more of aday in the life type of thing.
(10:36):
And with a business brand, it'smore of a collective.
So the owner, founder isdefinitely important, but what's
the team dynamic?
How does everyone get along?
What's fun about the officespace or the clinical space?
How do you celebrate eachother?
(10:57):
How do you interact?
What's something, like, goofyyou do?
What's something, like, alittle...
I'm trying to think of, like,silly little traditions you have
for birthdays or holidays.
And people love that.
Like, it's just something that,like, personalizes it, right?
Because a lot of times, like,when you're working with
different brands, I know we justtalked about, like, OBGYN, you
(11:22):
need to create a narrative thatisn't so clinical.
Because a lot of times you'regoing to, like if you're a
doctor, you're going to leaninto your clinical expertise,
your medical expertise.
But for a layperson, for apatient, they want you to, of
course, be an expert.
But the bedside manner alsoplays a big part in how you're
(11:48):
going to interact with yourpatients.
And that is also incrediblyimportant.
Janice Hostager (11:53):
Yeah.
It really is.
And now, how do you recommendthat if you have a small team or
your service-based businesswith maybe a larger team, how do
you start building that brand,given that it's not maybe a
reflection of you?
Or should it be a reflection ofyou if you're the founder?
Cara Chatellier (12:08):
Yeah, I think it's a reflection of you to some
extent.
What I typically do is I sitdown with like key stakeholders,
like the people who are goingto be most involved and most
featured in the brand.
So let's say it's five of thetop people.
Maybe it's five partners.
Sit down with them.
And then they all, you ask aquestion to the room and they
(12:31):
all kind of play off each other.
Actually, no, let's know.
What about this?
Oh, and then this thing.
And it really helps to get kindof that holistic picture.
And even if they say something,but you hear something, you're
like, I heard what you said, butwhat I'm getting is this.
And you're able to kind of likethread that needle.
I think the founder, the owner,definitely incredibly
(12:53):
important.
But when you're doing more of abusiness brand, the interaction
and what that culture is likeis more important.
Um, because that's what, that'swhat people want to know.
That's what they're gonna,what's going to resonate with
them.
And yeah, that also, I think,I'm talking about clients that I
(13:15):
have that I've worked with.
I've also had situations whereI've talked to founders, um, to
people where the culture feelsnot great.
And then that doesn't feel likesomeone I can help market
either because you want to workwith someone where you feel
like, okay, this is somethingwhere the vibes are good.
(13:35):
They all get along.
This feels really great.
And I want to promote thisbecause like a lot of times we
have to go and this is anotherlike female intuition thing.
We go by our gut, right?
With clients, I find a lot likeI go by gut feel.
This doesn't feel good.
I don't like the way thisfounder is talking to her
(13:58):
employees.
I feel a little uncomfortable.
So then I think that also playsa big part, being sure that you
can properly market thembecause you feel you believe in
what they're doing and how theyrepresent themselves.
Janice Hostager (14:17):
So I would imagine that the leader, even
though you're pulling in a lotof members of the team, the
leader really has to be the oneto say, this is why we do it.
So they need to establish theirvalues, their mission, and all
of that.
So that's the leader's job,right?
Cara Chatellier (14:31):
Totally.
Janice Hostager (14:33):
And so that has to be sort of the starting
point, which I do.
When I do branding for people,I'll draw concentric circles,
you know, and that's in thecenter, like your why.
Why are you doing this?
Cara Chatellier (14:45):
Sure.
Janice Hostager (14:46):
Do you feel like getting everybody in a room
like that and kind of hashingthrough it, does that at all...
weaken it at all?
Does that like dilute it ortake the edge off?
Just curious froma branding standpoint.
Cara Chatellier (15:02):
Yeah, no, I think like, because typically
what happens is I'll haveinitial phone calls with the
founder and maybe one other keystakeholder, but then having
individuals in there, I thinkbecause people see things, what
I did one time actually was Imet with the founders, asked
them a bunch of questions.
And then I met with other keyteam members separately to get
(15:24):
their points of view.
And that was also prettyinteresting, but everything
overlaps.
Like it was like, if you'redoing it right, the answers are
going to be so similar andeveryone's going to feel a
similar way about the brand.
So I don't find that it dilutesit.
I actually feel like itstrengthens it if they're doing
things the right way.
Janice Hostager (15:45):
That's interesting.
Yeah, I've worked with brandstoo that have kind of done a
similar thing.
I went to the key stakeholders,the C-suite, kind of got
everybody's feedback and theywere like night and day.
So that was a challenge, youknow, and something like that
happened.
But I love that you areworking, you know, I think you
need to work with that core,that reason why they're there
(16:08):
and kind of move out from there.
And you're never going to get100% buy-in probably
in anything, well, maybe notnever, but often there's always
some outliers that are going tosay, well, you know, I think we
should focus on this or that.
Right.
But so are there good women-ledbrands that you know of that
really connect to its purpose,connect their purpose to their
(16:28):
marketing really well?
Cara Chatellier (16:29):
Definitely.
So one client that we work withis...
well, I'll just tell this wholestory.
So this is going to be a answerthe question and then mini
tangent.
So it's a OBGYN.
It's all female obstetricproviders.
There's like 60 providers.
So big practice.
(16:51):
And when I started working withthem, they were kind of having
a image problem.
So they were feeling like,okay, we need more patients.
We need to drive more patientsin.
But something about like thewebsite and our social just
isn't working.
So I'm looking at theirwebsite, looking at their
social.
And it's like so clinical.
(17:14):
And the social is like allstock photos, website, all stock
photos.
And nowhere there does it sayanything about like it's all
just like stock language, too.
It's like copy and paste, likeGoogle, like OBGYN language for
website.
And like, that's what pops up.
And I was just like, did a mandesign this?
(17:39):
Yeah.
And the partner was like, yeah, how did you
know?
I was like, oh my God, please.
So what we did is we went like,basically their mission, their
vision is that they want tobuild trust and they want to
care for women at every stage oftheir life.
So not just when they'redelivering their first, second,
(18:03):
third, fourth child, but whenthey're teens and they're having
their first pap smear andthat's scary or when they're
getting birth control for thefirst time or they're dealing
with endometriosis or they'regoing through menopause and they
need hormone replacementtherapy.
It's kind of like the fullstretch of life for a woman who
(18:28):
um like needs a provider theycan trust and so what we did and
like we were like your brand isthis like you want to be
trustworthy you want to likewalk with someone through their
life and like be a supportsystem and your website is
saying clinical um copy andpaste like this could be anyone
(18:49):
and you're an all-femaleobstetric provider you gender
affirming care like you're asafe space for anyone and like
we're not seeing that anywhereso we kind of like blew
everything up we got we've hadlike multiple photo shoots with
them um so we have like now it'sall their beautiful smiling
faces like who are these peoplehere's like instead of like
(19:14):
doctor profiles where it's like,here's where they went to
school, here are theirspecialties, nothing else.
It's like, here's what I dooutside of work.
You can find me here.
You know, just like personalpoints about them.
We also do highlights onsocial, like here's a quote
about what they do, why theylove what they do, what they
(19:34):
specialize in.
So just kind of like creatingthat trust.
helping build that trust,pulling in from testimonials
saying, okay, someone alwayssays that you, this doctor
especially, is a great person togo to for X.
So let's highlight that.
Whereas like, you know, ifyou're coming at this from the
(19:54):
male brain, you're like, I don'tknow, it's a doctor's office.
It's fine.
What do you mean?
Like we're like, no, you'redelivering a baby.
Like that is incrediblyvulnerable.
Like you need someone you cantrust and like who you feel like
gets you and sees you and hasbeen where you are.
And like so that creating thatfrom like a marketing
(20:14):
perspective, coming at it withlike such care and sensitivity
and being like, we really needto like push that not only are
these expert doctors, but theyalso are people.
and they care and they'reworthy of your trust.
So like threading that needleis incredibly important.
Janice Hostager (20:32):
Oh, absolutely.
Especially for something likeOBGYN, because you're going in
there, you're extremelyvulnerable, right?
You know, as a woman, you know,you're just going in there and
letting them see it all, right?
And so therefore you reallywant to know what they look
like.
You want to know that they'rehuman beings.
Cara Chatellier (20:49):
Right, yes.
Janice Hostager (20:50):
So that's awesome.
How do you think storytellingcomes into play in building a
memorable and meaningful brand?
How do you integrate that intowebsites, into email, whatever
it is?
Cara Chatellier (21:07):
Yeah, we use it quite a bit.
And luckily, we have some greatdoctors.
Well, keeping the OBGYNexample, we have some great
doctors who have been able toget some really impactful
stories from not only from theproviders themselves who deliver
at the hospital, but frompatients who have delivered and
(21:29):
have these really great storiesand like providing those via the
blog, features on the website,testimonials.
I think like anytime you cantell a personal point, a story,
it just resonates so much more.
I mean, think about the way welive our lives.
Like everything is stories,right?
(21:49):
It's storytelling.
It's like building thatnarrative.
We listen to, I know myself,I'm like always listening to a
podcast, always listening to aaudio book or something.
Like I love a, I love a story.
And, um, with one of my dentalclients, um, we had individuals
(22:10):
come in to do videotestimonials, which were
incredible because you thinkabout, okay, like, Yeah, you go
to the dentist, whatever.
But then there's these peoplewho go to the dentist and they
have a missing tooth or theyhave teeth that they aren't
proud of and they don't smile.
(22:31):
And if you think about that,that is such a key part of your
life of happiness, of joy, ofcelebration, where, you know,
you show joy.
teeth as a way to say like, oh,I'm happy.
I'm here.
And if you don't feelcomfortable doing that, that's
so incredibly impactful to yourwell-being.
(22:54):
So like being able to tell thatstory, because like I think,
again, you think about, okay, gointo the dentist.
Don't know.
I'm scared.
But it's like, what if like adentist can transform your life
and make you feel better aboutyourself and improve your
well-being and, you know, bringjoy back in and It's something
like that where it's like if youthink about things that like
(23:16):
face, if you take things forface value or take things like,
okay, yeah, it's a dentistoffice, whatever, but dig a
little deeper and you're able tolike pull out these really
impactful tales that are likemarketing, but also like very
human and really impactful.
Janice Hostager (23:33):
Tell me more about how you pull out the
stories, because I know for alot of my clients and for me
personally, storytelling doesn'tcome naturally.
Like I know people that cantell a story, you know, off
their cuff, no problem.
But I'm one of those that'slike, story, okay.
So what do you suggest forpeople like me and others who
(23:56):
kind of struggle with thatstorytelling way, not just for
themselves, but for theirclients as well?
like pulling it out fromtestimonials and such?
Cara Chatellier (24:03):
Yeah, that's a good question.
So let's think about...
So I have like a staffingcompany.
So a lot of times like you'llthink, okay, yeah, you find
someone a job.
But really, I think it's likethinking about what the business
is, what they do, and thenthinking about that impact that
(24:24):
it could have.
Like finding a job, can some ofthe biggest...
moments of your life are likemaybe buying a home, getting
married, having a child, gettinga new job, like these big life
transitions.
So like thinking about it froma lens of like, how does the
service that this businessprovides impact someone's life?
(24:47):
And like thinking about what'sa great client interaction you
had?
What's the, can you tell meabout Something that you hear
clients say over and over.
Can you tell me about somethingthat a client said to you once
that really meant a lot to you?
And then usually there's astory there.
Because even thinking about thestaffing company, someone wrote
(25:14):
an email that's like, This jobhas been transformative because
X, Y, and Z.
And you're like, okay, dive in,like zoom in.
I want more.
Tell me more.
Let's pull out some threadsthere.
So it's like kind of theseoutside perspectives, like the
testimonial, those emails thatyou're getting, things people
(25:36):
are saying over and over thatyou can say like, okay, let's
pull back a little bit.
It's kind of like a zooming inand like, just like asking more
and more questions.
Let me think of another examplefrom like, okay, like financial
advisors.
Like there's these things whereyou think baseline, okay,
boring.
Okay, it's a financial advisor,money, whatever.
(25:58):
But it's like, actually, myhuge impact because it can, you
know, you think about estateplanning and wills and how like,
talking to a financial advisorwhen someone's going through
divorce.
Like I have a female ownedfemale advisory client and she
(26:22):
specializes in divorce and likehow women are often negatively
impacted by divorce and likekind of parsing through that.
And I think like you, she'sdone a ton of like webinars on
it, a ton of events and likethinking about the major impact
(26:42):
that she's had on some of theseindividuals and those things
where baseline the businesscould seem a little like okay
and even like marketing you knowlike us we're like okay what's,
what impact could we have?
It's just a marketing company,blah, blah, blah.
But it's like, actually, youcan grow a business
significantly.
You can, like we've had clientswho've opened new offices and
(27:07):
really grown with new hires andincreased revenue by a ton.
And it's like, yeah, you areimpacting people's lives in a
major way.
So looking at it from thatstandpoint and just kind of
pulling those threads.
Janice Hostager (27:24):
I love that.
Just sort of start from whatyou do and then looking at the
many ways that you touchpeople's lives through what you
do.
I love that.
That's a great approach.
Going back to brandpersonality.
So what platforms or strategiesdo you use to showcase brand
personality, especially forsolopreneurs?
So let's say that you have apersonal brand.
(27:47):
What is it that a small teamshould do or a solopreneur
should do to really focus onshowcasing their personal brand?
Cara Chatellier (27:55):
Yeah.
No.
So I think there's a, there's alot of things you can do.
I think if you can take acouple hours with your team,
whether, whether it's yourselfand you could do this with a
friend or you, it's you and acouple of your employees go
(28:18):
offsite, take a couple hours andsit down and talk through like,
who are we?
Why are we doing this?
Why are we here?
What are things that matter tous?
How do we want people to feelwhen they interact with our
content?
What are some words we woulduse to describe how we want to
look and feel?
Kind of like going through adeep dive.
(28:41):
And I mean, they can look upGoogle branding questions.
If you're on a shoestring, Ialways think like, You can DIY
some of this.
It might not be as impactful,but you're going to be able to
get some great stuff.
And sit down and think on that.
And then think about the waysthat you can present that to the
world.
And I think a lot of times withpersonal brands or small teams,
(29:06):
and I'm guilty of this too,it's hard to show your face.
It's really hard to putyourself out there because a lot
of times when we have thesesmall businesses, we're
showcasing a piece of ourselvesthat feels really vulnerable.
Um, showcasing experts, puttingyourself out there is
terrifying.
You want it like it's sovulnerable.
(29:27):
Um, but it gets easier and youget better at it and you have to
start with something and youmight look back in five years
and be like, oh my God, rememberwhen I did that, but at least
you started.
And the only way to do it is bystarting.
Um, and, you know, if you don'thave the budget for a photo
(29:47):
shoot, just like have some fundoing what you're doing, set, do
some behind the scenes stuff,um, staying authentic to who you
are.
And I think authenticity islike really tossed around a lot,
but I think like for me, I am,I am a big personality.
(30:08):
I am bold.
I'm kind of loud.
Um, and like corporate is notfor me.
I'm not like a corporateperson.
I'm giggly.
And I remember being at acorporate job early on and
someone said to me, you laughtoo much.
And I'll let you guess, man orwoman, do you think said that to
(30:33):
me?
Janice Hostager (30:34):
I would guess that was a dude.
Cara Chatellier (30:36):
It was a man.
Yes.
I remember it so specifically.
Yeah.
But things like that where it'slike if I showed up super
corporate on video talking aboutmetrics and KPIs, that's just
not who I am.
And if you're not a bubbly,outgoing person, don't be that.
(30:58):
Just try to showcase who youare and what you're trying to
do.
And I think we love a photoshoot.
So if you can take a photoshoot to showcase your brand and
what you do...
Yay.
It's obviously an expense, butI think like that's a really fun
way to do it.
If you're nervous to show up onsocial, writing down some
(31:19):
blogs, some stories about howyou got started.
Everyone loves a founder story.
Um, have someone interview you,like whether it's a friend or a
team member, that's alwaysreally fun.
And that can pull out somegreat stories, some quotes you
can use on social if you don'twant to show yourself.
Um, writing things on LinkedIn.
(31:40):
I mean, where your clients are,right?
Because this is like wherebroad strokes on like personal
brand, who you are.
But we usually like to say likefocus on two platforms.
You can't do it all and norshould you.
Janice Hostager (31:52):
Yeah.
Cara Chatellier (31:54):
And if video is not your thing, post on
LinkedIn, post on your blog.
Yeah.
Janice Hostager (31:59):
Yeah.
I mean, I do really recommend,especially if you have personal
brand, to use video because thehuman mind picks up so much more
from video than they will everpick up from just reading an
article.
However, there are so manypeople that are uncomfortable
putting themselves out there.
And so I love that you talkabout baby steps.
And I think that's importanttoo, just to kind of sit down,
(32:23):
first of all, and figure out whoyou are, how you want to
portray yourself or how you wantto look and figure out that
brand piece of it.
Because if you don't have that,it does get harder.
And then, yeah, like you said,you got to just jump in.
How I started was justvideotaping myself, at home,
having a conversation withmyself and recording myself
doing it.
(32:43):
Because you have to get used toseeing yourself, hearing
yourself, you know, just gettingcomfortable with yourself on
camera.
Because other than that, if yougo big at first, it's going to
come across as stiff, I think, alittle bit.
Cara Chatellier (32:56):
Completely, yeah.
And I think definitely babysteps, definitely know your
limits, definitely.
And if you go too big first,then...
You're probably not going to doit again.
It's like a new habit, right?
I remember I was dating thisguy, and he was talking about
getting back into the gym.
And he's like, well, I'm justgoing to go five days this week.
(33:18):
And I'm like, yeah, I haven'tbeen to the gym in months, and
now you're going to go five daysa week?
Can we not?
That is not how you do it.
So don't be like, and now I'mdoing a video every day.
No.
Just don't do that.
It doesn't work.
Janice Hostager (33:34):
Well, yeah, I think easing into something is
absolutely right.
You know, it's just like thegym five days a week.
It's not good for your musclesanyway, right?
I mean, that's what I've beentold.
Cara Chatellier (33:46):
I love to rest.
Janice Hostager (33:48):
Yes.
So what do you have to say tothe woman who is just starting
out and kind of worries that herstory isn't really interesting
enough to build a brand around?
Cara Chatellier (33:59):
I would say everyone probably thinks that at
one point.
I know I definitely have.
I think that's feeling likeimposter syndrome to me.
If you are starting a business,you have a compelling story
because it's badass to start abusiness.
It's cool as hell.
And I know that might feel likeyou're like, okay, sure.
(34:22):
It's actually true.
The amount of people who startbusinesses, I don't know the
percentages, but it's low.
So to put yourself out there tobuild a product, offer a
service, you have a story there.
What brought you to decide youwant to do this?
What inspired you?
(34:43):
What do you do well?
I think there's somethingthere.
Absolutely.
Like, okay, you had...
An aunt back in the, like, theamount of times I've heard,
like, I hear these stories allthe time.
I talk to business owners everyday.
And you hear every story isdifferent and interesting and
unique.
(35:04):
And it's unique.
And there's, you don't have toappeal to everyone.
You shouldn't, in fact.
You want to be more niche aboutwho you appeal to.
And think about the people yousee on social media who have
these stories.
You don't need 10 millionfollowers.
You could get 100 followers ofpeople who really support you
(35:25):
and who really resonate withyour message, and that's
amazing.
Janice Hostager (35:30):
Yeah, yeah.
Actually, that's so funny.
I was just having aconversation this morning with
my chiropractor.
He said, oh, you still haveyour podcast?
And I said, yeah.
Yeah, I'm not going to be a JoeRogan, though.
I want you to know that.
Cara Chatellier (35:42):
Thank God.
Janice Hostager (35:44):
Yeah, right.
But, you know, he said that,you know, if you had a tenth of
what Joe Rogan has, you know,you'd still be successful.
And I said, you know, all Ireally need is my followers.
You know, that's all I need.
You know, it can be, I'd rathergo deep than wide.
And That's what you need.
(36:06):
I mean, that's it.
I think we spend a lot of timeon social media trying to push
and get that follower number up,but you don't need to have an
ocean full of followers.
You need to have some to getsales, but it just has to be the
right followers.
Cara Chate (36:24):
Totally. Absolutely.
Janice Hostager (36:25):
So where can people find out more about you,
Cara?
Cara Chatellier (36:29):
So you can find me at bubblycreative.com,
bubblycreative on Facebook andLinkedIn and YouTube.
And on Instagram, it'sbubblycreativeMA.
Bubbly creative was taken.
And then Cara Chatellier onLinkedIn and on the website, you
can book time on my calendar.
(36:50):
I'm always available to chatwith anyone, any business owner.
I'm pretty open as far as likejust having a quick
conversation.
Janice Hostager (36:58):
Love it.
It was great chatting with youthis morning.
And all of those links will bein the show notes for today too.
Cara Chatellier (37:05):
Awesome.
Janice Hostager (37:06):
All right.
Thanks so much for being here.
Cara Chatellier (37:08):
Thank you for having me.
It was so lovely.
Janice Hostager (37:10):
I love how Cara reminds us that personality
isn't just a nice to have thingin your marketing.
It really is a secret sauce.
If you want to learn more aboutCara or Bubbly Creative, be
sure to check out the links inthe show notes for today.
You can find them atmyweeklymarketing.com.
forward slash 118.
And if this episode got yourwheels turning about how to
(37:32):
bring more purpose andpersonality into your brand, I'd
love to hear from you.
Tag me on Instagram at JaniceHostager Marketing or send me a
DM.
I always love hearing aboutwhat resonated with you.
Until next time, keep showingup with heart and strategy and
you'll go places.
See you next time.
Bye for now.
Unknown (37:54):
Music
I'm Janice Hostager.
After three decades in themarketing business and many
years of being an entrepreneur,I've learned a thing or two
about marketing.
Join me as we talk aboutmarketing, small business, and
life in between.
Welcome to My Weekly Marketing.
One thing I've noticed since Ifirst started in business is
(00:31):
this.
Women and men relate to eachother and market themselves
differently.
Now, I'm speaking ingeneralizations here.
Don't send me any emails.
But I've noticed that womentend to be more relational,
verbal, and generally relate toeach other differently than men
do.
That's why I love what my guesthas to say today.
Today, I'm joined by CaraChatellier, founder of Bubbly
(00:54):
Creative, a boutique agency thathelps women-led service
businesses show up like bigbrands.
What started as a solofreelance gig in Madrid for Cara
has grown into a full-serviceagency with an all-female team
and a reputation for makingmarketing feel doable.
In this episode, we're talkingabout what it really takes to
build a brand that connects,without burning out or
(01:16):
pretending to be someone you'renot.
Cara shows how she blendsstrategy with soul and how small
businesses can stand out byleaning into their voice, their
values, and their vision.
If you've ever wondered how tomarket your business in a way
that actually feels like you,with personality, purpose, and a
little bit of sparkle, you'rein for a treat.
(01:37):
Here's my conversation withCara.
Hey, Cara.
Welcome to My Weekly Marketing.
Cara Chatellier (01:41):
Thank you so much for having me.
I'm so happy to be here.
Janice Hostager (01:44):
I love that you run an agency, Bubbly Creative,
I also love that name, by theway, that focuses on women-led
brands.
How did you get to that point?
What made you want to focus onthat or have that be your
agency's focus?
Cara Chatellier (02:05):
Yeah, well, first, the name Bubbly
Creative...
just to touch on that quickly.
I've been told my whole lifethat I was bubbly.
My mom always saideffervescent, which is such a
great word too.
If you're a marketer, you heara word like effervescent, you're
like, delicious.
Janice Hostager (02:21):
I'm going to own that one.
Cara Chatellier (02:22):
Yeah.
But yeah, so it worked outperfectly because bubbles, they
pop, rise to the top.
It's kind of like acelebration.
Anytime you have bubbly, it'slike fun.
So I was like, yes, love it.
But as far as working withwomen.
So I grew up in a family ofthree sisters.
(02:44):
I'm the middle.
And my mom's a very strongwoman.
When we were younger, she gother master's, worked full-time,
and just really always been apart of like very matriarchal
structures that really loved thewomen around me.
I've always had very strongfemale friendships working.
(03:06):
I always had female managers,even, you know, it was just
something that I was alwaysdrawn to.
And as I kind of like came intomy own through school, going to
university and all of thosethings, just really kind of
like leaned into feminism and all of those things that you know, learning more about the patriarchy and really just wanting to support other women, and how other women's businesses grow as a female in business. You realize these unique struggles and unique powers we have as women, so just really wanting to connect with women who own their own businesses and help push their messages forward.
Janice Hostager (03:50):
Very cool.
Do you think that personalityor more like, yeah, do you think
that personality is such apowerful differentiator in
women-led brands or what part ofbranding women do you think
sets that apart?
That's a weird way of askingit, but what makes it, what's
(04:13):
different about marketing awoman-led brand?
That's kind of what I'm tryingto say.
Cara Chatellier (04:17):
For sure.
Yeah.
So I think, it totally dependson the individual, right?
So everyone's different.
All women are different.
Men, non-binary folks, whathave you.
But when you're marketing witha women-owned brand, I feel like
because we tend to be morenurturing, we tend to be more
feeling.
We put so much of our heart andsoul into business.
(04:41):
And especially if it's abusiness that is targeting a
woman, a female clientele, youjust are able to tap in a little
bit more to like the emotion ofit.
So I find that when I'm workingwith female owned businesses,
sometimes there's a little bitof a doubt at first that they
have, like, I don't know who Iam.
one of our strengths at bubblycreative is helping them find
(05:02):
out who they are and reallythreading, like pulling that
out.
We ask like a million questionswhen we get started working
with people.
And it's like, from what you'resaying there, I can sense that
you are.
And they're like, Oh yeah,actually.
And like, what do people sayabout you often?
What do you get in yourtestimonials?
And you can like kind of pullout those key pieces.
Cause sometimes like as a, as arule, I, unfortunately, um, a
(05:25):
lot of women tend to be moresusceptible to imposter
syndrome.
And men also experience it, ofcourse, and non-binary folks.
But I think that it's thesocialization of us.
Like we just tend to feelimposter syndrome a little bit
more than men do.
And as a result, not always asstanding as confident in our
(05:49):
brand and who we are.
So one of the things we lovedoing is like pulling that out
and kind of like helping peoplestand strongly in the brand and
who they are.
Oh,
Janice Hostager (06:00):
That is super powerful because I think I know
of a lot.
I know even for myself.
I mean, I grew up knowing whatI wanted to do.
I've been in business most ofmy career.
But when I took time off toraise kids, I became just a mom
in my head.
And I started volunteering alot and doing things that when I
(06:22):
went back into the workforce,it felt like, oh, I don't need
to be paid that much.
Maybe it's just because a lotof times women take on a lot of
different roles.
We can be the caretaker.
We can be the parent, mother.
We are most often the one totake time off when we have kids.
I don't know.
(06:45):
I feel like because we have somany...
names on ourselves or so manyroles that we fill, sometimes I
feel like it's really hard forus to identify who we are
because we're such a mixed bag.
All of us are, right?
Cara Chatellier (07:00):
Completely.
Yeah.
And I think a lot of times whenI don't have children myself,
but a lot of my friends do, andthey talk about like, okay, I'm
just coming back to myself afterlike having infants and like
okay I'm starting to like findmy identity again so I feel like
that happens a lot and then youhave children and then you also
(07:22):
have this business so it's likekind of like an identity crisis
so kind of like sorting throughall that and you know just by
the nature of society and thestructures that we live in
having uh being almost like 90%of the time the the burden of
the household falls on women alot and they're managing and
(07:44):
juggling so many things so it'sjust like you said kind of
parsing through that andfiguring out who am I who am I
as a business owner who's mytarget client like just being
able to help people sort throughthat bit and having that be our
expertise is just has beenreally special
Janice Hostager (08:01):
Yeah, yeah.
I love the phrase, it's...
a jar can't read its own labeland I think that is something
that I think we also have tojust be outright and say, what
do you see that I do well?
Asking people, asking yourfriends, asking family, asking
clients even, you know, what isit that you're happy about this
(08:23):
and getting feedback from them.
Because oftentimes, I think,especially if I get a
compliment, my first thing isjust to kind of dismiss it.
Like, oh, you know, thanks.
And then kind of move on.
But really taking that in andabsorbing that because that's a
clue.
That's a mirror, right?
So that you can start to seehow other people see you and how
your brand shows up in otherpeople's businesses.
(08:45):
So...
Cara Chatellier (08:46):
Totally.
And that's one of the things wedo a lot with when we do that
first deep dive meeting with ourclients is we ask them what's
something your clientsconsistently say about you.
And you can also see that intestimonials.
Like you'll see this similarphrases keep popping up and
you're like, okay, like let'slean into that.
Like people keep saying like,oh, I make them feel safe.
(09:08):
I feel they feel taken care ofor they say consistency or they
say communication and you'relike, okay, so that is going to
help us form who you are.
And because it's what peopleare saying, it's how you make
them feel.
And that's the most importantthing about a brand, right?
Janice Hostager (09:26):
And I think it's harder if
you are not maybe an extroverted person or you don't have a bold personality .
Cara Chatellier (09:28):
Right.
Right.
(09:58):
It's a little harder to figure out... sometimes I’ll look at my own branding, and think, it’s kind of vanilla. You know, it’s, I don’t know what it is I need to pull out this. So, I love that you both have questions with them. You take them through that. I think all of us benefit from just seeing patterns or just getting feedback from other people.
Totally.
Definitely.
Janice Hostager (10:01):
How do you work it?
So what's the differencebetween a personal brand and a
business brand when you have awoman led business?
I mean, obviously, they'redifferent, but how do
you differentiate them?
Cara Chatellier (10:15):
Yeah, so I think with a personal brand,
you're going to be focusing moreon the individual, right?
So like what their personalityis like, what their day to day
is like, you're able to kind ofdo that peek behind the curtain
that is kind of more theirrelationships, their likes,
their interests.
People want to see more of aday in the life type of thing.
(10:36):
And with a business brand, it'smore of a collective.
So the owner, founder isdefinitely important, but what's
the team dynamic?
How does everyone get along?
What's fun about the officespace or the clinical space?
How do you celebrate eachother?
(10:57):
How do you interact?
What's something, like, goofyyou do?
What's something, like, alittle...
I'm trying to think of, like,silly little traditions you have
for birthdays or holidays.
And people love that.
Like, it's just something that,like, personalizes it, right?
Because a lot of times, like,when you're working with
different brands, I know we justtalked about, like, OBGYN, you
(11:22):
need to create a narrative thatisn't so clinical.
Because a lot of times you'regoing to, like if you're a
doctor, you're going to leaninto your clinical expertise,
your medical expertise.
But for a layperson, for apatient, they want you to, of
course, be an expert.
But the bedside manner alsoplays a big part in how you're
(11:48):
going to interact with yourpatients.
And that is also incrediblyimportant.
Janice Hostager (11:53):
Yeah.
It really is.
And now, how do you recommendthat if you have a small team or
your service-based businesswith maybe a larger team, how do
you start building that brand,given that it's not maybe a
reflection of you?
Or should it be a reflection ofyou if you're the founder?
Cara Chatellier (12:08):
Yeah, I think it's a reflection of you to some
extent.
What I typically do is I sitdown with like key stakeholders,
like the people who are goingto be most involved and most
featured in the brand.
So let's say it's five of thetop people.
Maybe it's five partners.
Sit down with them.
And then they all, you ask aquestion to the room and they
(12:31):
all kind of play off each other.
Actually, no, let's know.
What about this?
Oh, and then this thing.
And it really helps to get kindof that holistic picture.
And even if they say something,but you hear something, you're
like, I heard what you said, butwhat I'm getting is this.
And you're able to kind of likethread that needle.
I think the founder, the owner,definitely incredibly
(12:53):
important.
But when you're doing more of abusiness brand, the interaction
and what that culture is likeis more important.
Um, because that's what, that'swhat people want to know.
That's what they're gonna,what's going to resonate with
them.
And yeah, that also, I think,I'm talking about clients that I
(13:15):
have that I've worked with.
I've also had situations whereI've talked to founders, um, to
people where the culture feelsnot great.
And then that doesn't feel likesomeone I can help market
either because you want to workwith someone where you feel
like, okay, this is somethingwhere the vibes are good.
(13:35):
They all get along.
This feels really great.
And I want to promote thisbecause like a lot of times we
have to go and this is anotherlike female intuition thing.
We go by our gut, right?
With clients, I find a lot likeI go by gut feel.
This doesn't feel good.
I don't like the way thisfounder is talking to her
(13:58):
employees.
I feel a little uncomfortable.
So then I think that also playsa big part, being sure that you
can properly market thembecause you feel you believe in
what they're doing and how theyrepresent themselves.
Janice Hostager (14:17):
So I would imagine that the leader, even
though you're pulling in a lotof members of the team, the
leader really has to be the oneto say, this is why we do it.
So they need to establish theirvalues, their mission, and all
of that.
So that's the leader's job,right?
Cara Chatellier (14:31):
Totally.
Janice Hostager (14:33):
And so that has to be sort of the starting
point, which I do.
When I do branding for people,I'll draw concentric circles,
you know, and that's in thecenter, like your why.
Why are you doing this?
Cara Chatellier (14:45):
Sure.
Janice Hostager (14:46):
Do you feel like getting everybody in a room
like that and kind of hashingthrough it, does that at all...
weaken it at all?
Does that like dilute it ortake the edge off?
Just curious froma branding standpoint.
Cara Chatellier (15:02):
Yeah, no, I think like, because typically
what happens is I'll haveinitial phone calls with the
founder and maybe one other keystakeholder, but then having
individuals in there, I thinkbecause people see things, what
I did one time actually was Imet with the founders, asked
them a bunch of questions.
And then I met with other keyteam members separately to get
(15:24):
their points of view.
And that was also prettyinteresting, but everything
overlaps.
Like it was like, if you'redoing it right, the answers are
going to be so similar andeveryone's going to feel a
similar way about the brand.
So I don't find that it dilutesit.
I actually feel like itstrengthens it if they're doing
things the right way.
Janice Hostager (15:45):
That's interesting.
Yeah, I've worked with brandstoo that have kind of done a
similar thing.
I went to the key stakeholders,the C-suite, kind of got
everybody's feedback and theywere like night and day.
So that was a challenge, youknow, and something like that
happened.
But I love that you areworking, you know, I think you
need to work with that core,that reason why they're there
(16:08):
and kind of move out from there.
And you're never going to get100% buy-in probably
in anything, well, maybe notnever, but often there's always
some outliers that are going tosay, well, you know, I think we
should focus on this or that.
Right.
But so are there good women-ledbrands that you know of that
really connect to its purpose,connect their purpose to their
(16:28):
marketing really well?
Cara Chatellier (16:29):
Definitely.
So one client that we work withis...
well, I'll just tell this wholestory.
So this is going to be a answerthe question and then mini
tangent.
So it's a OBGYN.
It's all female obstetricproviders.
There's like 60 providers.
So big practice.
(16:51):
And when I started working withthem, they were kind of having
a image problem.
So they were feeling like,okay, we need more patients.
We need to drive more patientsin.
But something about like thewebsite and our social just
isn't working.
So I'm looking at theirwebsite, looking at their
social.
And it's like so clinical.
(17:14):
And the social is like allstock photos, website, all stock
photos.
And nowhere there does it sayanything about like it's all
just like stock language, too.
It's like copy and paste, likeGoogle, like OBGYN language for
website.
And like, that's what pops up.
And I was just like, did a mandesign this?
(17:39):
Yeah.
And the partner was like, yeah, how did you
know?
I was like, oh my God, please.
So what we did is we went like,basically their mission, their
vision is that they want tobuild trust and they want to
care for women at every stage oftheir life.
So not just when they'redelivering their first, second,
(18:03):
third, fourth child, but whenthey're teens and they're having
their first pap smear andthat's scary or when they're
getting birth control for thefirst time or they're dealing
with endometriosis or they'regoing through menopause and they
need hormone replacementtherapy.
It's kind of like the fullstretch of life for a woman who
(18:28):
um like needs a provider theycan trust and so what we did and
like we were like your brand isthis like you want to be
trustworthy you want to likewalk with someone through their
life and like be a supportsystem and your website is
saying clinical um copy andpaste like this could be anyone
(18:49):
and you're an all-femaleobstetric provider you gender
affirming care like you're asafe space for anyone and like
we're not seeing that anywhereso we kind of like blew
everything up we got we've hadlike multiple photo shoots with
them um so we have like now it'sall their beautiful smiling
faces like who are these peoplehere's like instead of like
(19:14):
doctor profiles where it's like,here's where they went to
school, here are theirspecialties, nothing else.
It's like, here's what I dooutside of work.
You can find me here.
You know, just like personalpoints about them.
We also do highlights onsocial, like here's a quote
about what they do, why theylove what they do, what they
(19:34):
specialize in.
So just kind of like creatingthat trust.
helping build that trust,pulling in from testimonials
saying, okay, someone alwayssays that you, this doctor
especially, is a great person togo to for X.
So let's highlight that.
Whereas like, you know, ifyou're coming at this from the
(19:54):
male brain, you're like, I don'tknow, it's a doctor's office.
It's fine.
What do you mean?
Like we're like, no, you'redelivering a baby.
Like that is incrediblyvulnerable.
Like you need someone you cantrust and like who you feel like
gets you and sees you and hasbeen where you are.
And like so that creating thatfrom like a marketing
(20:14):
perspective, coming at it withlike such care and sensitivity
and being like, we really needto like push that not only are
these expert doctors, but theyalso are people.
and they care and they'reworthy of your trust.
So like threading that needleis incredibly important.
Janice Hostager (20:32):
Oh, absolutely.
Especially for something likeOBGYN, because you're going in
there, you're extremelyvulnerable, right?
You know, as a woman, you know,you're just going in there and
letting them see it all, right?
And so therefore you reallywant to know what they look
like.
You want to know that they'rehuman beings.
Cara Chatellier (20:49):
Right, yes.
Janice Hostager (20:50):
So that's awesome.
How do you think storytellingcomes into play in building a
memorable and meaningful brand?
How do you integrate that intowebsites, into email, whatever
it is?
Cara Chatellier (21:07):
Yeah, we use it quite a bit.
And luckily, we have some greatdoctors.
Well, keeping the OBGYNexample, we have some great
doctors who have been able toget some really impactful
stories from not only from theproviders themselves who deliver
at the hospital, but frompatients who have delivered and
(21:29):
have these really great storiesand like providing those via the
blog, features on the website,testimonials.
I think like anytime you cantell a personal point, a story,
it just resonates so much more.
I mean, think about the way welive our lives.
Like everything is stories,right?
(21:49):
It's storytelling.
It's like building thatnarrative.
We listen to, I know myself,I'm like always listening to a
podcast, always listening to aaudio book or something.
Like I love a, I love a story.
And, um, with one of my dentalclients, um, we had individuals
(22:10):
come in to do videotestimonials, which were
incredible because you thinkabout, okay, like, Yeah, you go
to the dentist, whatever.
But then there's these peoplewho go to the dentist and they
have a missing tooth or theyhave teeth that they aren't
proud of and they don't smile.
(22:31):
And if you think about that,that is such a key part of your
life of happiness, of joy, ofcelebration, where, you know,
you show joy.
teeth as a way to say like, oh,I'm happy.
I'm here.
And if you don't feelcomfortable doing that, that's
so incredibly impactful to yourwell-being.
(22:54):
So like being able to tell thatstory, because like I think,
again, you think about, okay, gointo the dentist.
Don't know.
I'm scared.
But it's like, what if like adentist can transform your life
and make you feel better aboutyourself and improve your
well-being and, you know, bringjoy back in and It's something
like that where it's like if youthink about things that like
(23:16):
face, if you take things forface value or take things like,
okay, yeah, it's a dentistoffice, whatever, but dig a
little deeper and you're able tolike pull out these really
impactful tales that are likemarketing, but also like very
human and really impactful.
Janice Hostager (23:33):
Tell me more about how you pull out the
stories, because I know for alot of my clients and for me
personally, storytelling doesn'tcome naturally.
Like I know people that cantell a story, you know, off
their cuff, no problem.
But I'm one of those that'slike, story, okay.
So what do you suggest forpeople like me and others who
(23:56):
kind of struggle with thatstorytelling way, not just for
themselves, but for theirclients as well?
like pulling it out fromtestimonials and such?
Cara Chatellier (24:03):
Yeah, that's a good question.
So let's think about...
So I have like a staffingcompany.
So a lot of times like you'llthink, okay, yeah, you find
someone a job.
But really, I think it's likethinking about what the business
is, what they do, and thenthinking about that impact that
(24:24):
it could have.
Like finding a job, can some ofthe biggest...
moments of your life are likemaybe buying a home, getting
married, having a child, gettinga new job, like these big life
transitions.
So like thinking about it froma lens of like, how does the
service that this businessprovides impact someone's life?
(24:47):
And like thinking about what'sa great client interaction you
had?
What's the, can you tell meabout Something that you hear
clients say over and over.
Can you tell me about somethingthat a client said to you once
that really meant a lot to you?
And then usually there's astory there.
Because even thinking about thestaffing company, someone wrote
(25:14):
an email that's like, This jobhas been transformative because
X, Y, and Z.
And you're like, okay, dive in,like zoom in.
I want more.
Tell me more.
Let's pull out some threadsthere.
So it's like kind of theseoutside perspectives, like the
testimonial, those emails thatyou're getting, things people
(25:36):
are saying over and over thatyou can say like, okay, let's
pull back a little bit.
It's kind of like a zooming inand like, just like asking more
and more questions.
Let me think of another examplefrom like, okay, like financial
advisors.
Like there's these things whereyou think baseline, okay,
boring.
Okay, it's a financial advisor,money, whatever.
(25:58):
But it's like, actually, myhuge impact because it can, you
know, you think about estateplanning and wills and how like,
talking to a financial advisorwhen someone's going through
divorce.
Like I have a female ownedfemale advisory client and she
(26:22):
specializes in divorce and likehow women are often negatively
impacted by divorce and likekind of parsing through that.
And I think like you, she'sdone a ton of like webinars on
it, a ton of events and likethinking about the major impact
(26:42):
that she's had on some of theseindividuals and those things
where baseline the businesscould seem a little like okay
and even like marketing you knowlike us we're like okay what's,
what impact could we have?
It's just a marketing company,blah, blah, blah.
But it's like, actually, youcan grow a business
significantly.
You can, like we've had clientswho've opened new offices and
(27:07):
really grown with new hires andincreased revenue by a ton.
And it's like, yeah, you areimpacting people's lives in a
major way.
So looking at it from thatstandpoint and just kind of
pulling those threads.
Janice Hostager (27:24):
I love that.
Just sort of start from whatyou do and then looking at the
many ways that you touchpeople's lives through what you
do.
I love that.
That's a great approach.
Going back to brandpersonality.
So what platforms or strategiesdo you use to showcase brand
personality, especially forsolopreneurs?
So let's say that you have apersonal brand.
(27:47):
What is it that a small teamshould do or a solopreneur
should do to really focus onshowcasing their personal brand?
Cara Chatellier (27:55):
Yeah.
No.
So I think there's a, there's alot of things you can do.
I think if you can take acouple hours with your team,
whether, whether it's yourselfand you could do this with a
friend or you, it's you and acouple of your employees go
(28:18):
offsite, take a couple hours andsit down and talk through like,
who are we?
Why are we doing this?
Why are we here?
What are things that matter tous?
How do we want people to feelwhen they interact with our
content?
What are some words we woulduse to describe how we want to
look and feel?
Kind of like going through adeep dive.
(28:41):
And I mean, they can look upGoogle branding questions.
If you're on a shoestring, Ialways think like, You can DIY
some of this.
It might not be as impactful,but you're going to be able to
get some great stuff.
And sit down and think on that.
And then think about the waysthat you can present that to the
world.
And I think a lot of times withpersonal brands or small teams,
(29:06):
and I'm guilty of this too,it's hard to show your face.
It's really hard to putyourself out there because a lot
of times when we have thesesmall businesses, we're
showcasing a piece of ourselvesthat feels really vulnerable.
Um, showcasing experts, puttingyourself out there is
terrifying.
You want it like it's sovulnerable.
(29:27):
Um, but it gets easier and youget better at it and you have to
start with something and youmight look back in five years
and be like, oh my God, rememberwhen I did that, but at least
you started.
And the only way to do it is bystarting.
Um, and, you know, if you don'thave the budget for a photo
(29:47):
shoot, just like have some fundoing what you're doing, set, do
some behind the scenes stuff,um, staying authentic to who you
are.
And I think authenticity islike really tossed around a lot,
but I think like for me, I am,I am a big personality.
(30:08):
I am bold.
I'm kind of loud.
Um, and like corporate is notfor me.
I'm not like a corporateperson.
I'm giggly.
And I remember being at acorporate job early on and
someone said to me, you laughtoo much.
And I'll let you guess, man orwoman, do you think said that to
(30:33):
me?
Janice Hostager (30:34):
I would guess that was a dude.
Cara Chatellier (30:36):
It was a man.
Yes.
I remember it so specifically.
Yeah.
But things like that where it'slike if I showed up super
corporate on video talking aboutmetrics and KPIs, that's just
not who I am.
And if you're not a bubbly,outgoing person, don't be that.
(30:58):
Just try to showcase who youare and what you're trying to
do.
And I think we love a photoshoot.
So if you can take a photoshoot to showcase your brand and
what you do...
Yay.
It's obviously an expense, butI think like that's a really fun
way to do it.
If you're nervous to show up onsocial, writing down some
(31:19):
blogs, some stories about howyou got started.
Everyone loves a founder story.
Um, have someone interview you,like whether it's a friend or a
team member, that's alwaysreally fun.
And that can pull out somegreat stories, some quotes you
can use on social if you don'twant to show yourself.
Um, writing things on LinkedIn.
(31:40):
I mean, where your clients are,right?
Because this is like wherebroad strokes on like personal
brand, who you are.
But we usually like to say likefocus on two platforms.
You can't do it all and norshould you.
Janice Hostager (31:52):
Yeah.
Cara Chatellier (31:54):
And if video is not your thing, post on
LinkedIn, post on your blog.
Yeah.
Janice Hostager (31:59):
Yeah.
I mean, I do really recommend,especially if you have personal
brand, to use video because thehuman mind picks up so much more
from video than they will everpick up from just reading an
article.
However, there are so manypeople that are uncomfortable
putting themselves out there.
And so I love that you talkabout baby steps.
And I think that's importanttoo, just to kind of sit down,
(32:23):
first of all, and figure out whoyou are, how you want to
portray yourself or how you wantto look and figure out that
brand piece of it.
Because if you don't have that,it does get harder.
And then, yeah, like you said,you got to just jump in.
How I started was justvideotaping myself, at home,
having a conversation withmyself and recording myself
doing it.
(32:43):
Because you have to get used toseeing yourself, hearing
yourself, you know, just gettingcomfortable with yourself on
camera.
Because other than that, if yougo big at first, it's going to
come across as stiff, I think, alittle bit.
Cara Chatellier (32:56):
Completely, yeah.
And I think definitely babysteps, definitely know your
limits, definitely.
And if you go too big first,then...
You're probably not going to doit again.
It's like a new habit, right?
I remember I was dating thisguy, and he was talking about
getting back into the gym.
And he's like, well, I'm justgoing to go five days this week.
(33:18):
And I'm like, yeah, I haven'tbeen to the gym in months, and
now you're going to go five daysa week?
Can we not?
That is not how you do it.
So don't be like, and now I'mdoing a video every day.
No.
Just don't do that.
It doesn't work.
Janice Hostager (33:34):
Well, yeah, I think easing into something is
absolutely right.
You know, it's just like thegym five days a week.
It's not good for your musclesanyway, right?
I mean, that's what I've beentold.
Cara Chatellier (33:46):
I love to rest.
Janice Hostager (33:48):
Yes.
So what do you have to say tothe woman who is just starting
out and kind of worries that herstory isn't really interesting
enough to build a brand around?
Cara Chatellier (33:59):
I would say everyone probably thinks that at
one point.
I know I definitely have.
I think that's feeling likeimposter syndrome to me.
If you are starting a business,you have a compelling story
because it's badass to start abusiness.
It's cool as hell.
And I know that might feel likeyou're like, okay, sure.
(34:22):
It's actually true.
The amount of people who startbusinesses, I don't know the
percentages, but it's low.
So to put yourself out there tobuild a product, offer a
service, you have a story there.
What brought you to decide youwant to do this?
What inspired you?
(34:43):
What do you do well?
I think there's somethingthere.
Absolutely.
Like, okay, you had...
An aunt back in the, like, theamount of times I've heard,
like, I hear these stories allthe time.
I talk to business owners everyday.
And you hear every story isdifferent and interesting and
unique.
(35:04):
And it's unique.
And there's, you don't have toappeal to everyone.
You shouldn't, in fact.
You want to be more niche aboutwho you appeal to.
And think about the people yousee on social media who have
these stories.
You don't need 10 millionfollowers.
You could get 100 followers ofpeople who really support you
(35:25):
and who really resonate withyour message, and that's
amazing.
Janice Hostager (35:30):
Yeah, yeah.
Actually, that's so funny.
I was just having aconversation this morning with
my chiropractor.
He said, oh, you still haveyour podcast?
And I said, yeah.
Yeah, I'm not going to be a JoeRogan, though.
I want you to know that.
Cara Chatellier (35:42):
Thank God.
Janice Hostager (35:44):
Yeah, right.
But, you know, he said that,you know, if you had a tenth of
what Joe Rogan has, you know,you'd still be successful.
And I said, you know, all Ireally need is my followers.
You know, that's all I need.
You know, it can be, I'd rathergo deep than wide.
And That's what you need.
(36:06):
I mean, that's it.
I think we spend a lot of timeon social media trying to push
and get that follower number up,but you don't need to have an
ocean full of followers.
You need to have some to getsales, but it just has to be the
right followers.
Cara Chate (36:24):
Totally. Absolutely.
Janice Hostager (36:25):
So where can people find out more about you,
Cara?
Cara Chatellier (36:29):
So you can find me at bubblycreative.com,
bubblycreative on Facebook andLinkedIn and YouTube.
And on Instagram, it'sbubblycreativeMA.
Bubbly creative was taken.
And then Cara Chatellier onLinkedIn and on the website, you
can book time on my calendar.
(36:50):
I'm always available to chatwith anyone, any business owner.
I'm pretty open as far as likejust having a quick
conversation.
Janice Hostager (36:58):
Love it.
It was great chatting with youthis morning.
And all of those links will bein the show notes for today too.
Cara Chatellier (37:05):
Awesome.
Janice Hostager (37:06):
All right.
Thanks so much for being here.
Cara Chatellier (37:08):
Thank you for having me.
It was so lovely.
Janice Hostager (37:10):
I love how Cara reminds us that personality
isn't just a nice to have thingin your marketing.
It really is a secret sauce.
If you want to learn more aboutCara or Bubbly Creative, be
sure to check out the links inthe show notes for today.
You can find them atmyweeklymarketing.com.
forward slash 118.
And if this episode got yourwheels turning about how to
(37:32):
bring more purpose andpersonality into your brand, I'd
love to hear from you.
Tag me on Instagram at JaniceHostager Marketing or send me a
DM.
I always love hearing aboutwhat resonated with you.
Until next time, keep showingup with heart and strategy and
you'll go places.
See you next time.
Bye for now.
Unknown (37:54):
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